First, need to express my love for the War Room community, its sense of belonging, and everything you all have taught me.
Since I value WR's input given the broad experiences and perspectives, I'm seeking insight choosing between 2 AE offers. In other words, is there anything else to consider or other perspectives to apply for this decision?
Both are SaaS AE positions that operate within the same industry (and same industry as my background), however they are very different firms/roles.
Both have base salaries in the mid $100Ks. Both OTEs are double the base salary. I had a few other offers that I cut out of the equation, narrowing it down to these two, which I am having a difficult decision with.
Option 1:
- Higher Base salary - 25% greater than Option 2 // 6 Less Vacation days than Option 2.
- They claim: 70% of reps in this vertical are at or over quota. Team is currently 120% to quota. Top 50% of reps earn $400K+.
- Cut throat in the sense that they "trim the fat" of underperforming reps after 1-1.5 years of underperformance.
- Blue Chip public firm. Got to the size they are today through a ton of M&A.
- I would be selling a portfolio of solutions into a specific client type. There are 10 individual solutions in the suite that serve various functions at the customer, so good cross-sell oppies.
- Hybrid role: covering existing accounts + new logos. There's a chance they change that deployment model in the future by segmenting new logo reps from existing account reps.
- Premium provider with strong brand recognition yet ample competition.
- Anticipate this being significantly more difficult to ramp up in terms of knowledge on the client industry and solutions.
Option 2:
- Lower Base. Sign-on bonus that brings it more in line with the other offer, at least for year one. Unwilling to negotiate base salary any higher because I would "be the highest paid AE on this team."
- 6 more vacation days than Option 1.
- No accelerators in the comp plan. Pays the same rate at over 100% of target as it does at the first $1 in sales.
- Series B company. ~200 employees. European company that's ramping up US business. Well funded and healthy customer base for its age.
- Slightly riskier in terms of company age. They've only been in the US for 1.5 years, so not much history to evaluate in terms of rep performance, targets, and tenure. However sales leadership comes from long tenures at blue chip firms.
- I am more interested and excited about this company, primarily because the product is novel, resonates with me, and has more of a tech startup vibe.
- It's one product with 3 primary applications/use cases across client types.
- Generalist role that sells into various client types. New logos only.
What do I value?
- Money. Obviously. At a certain point though, I'm comfortable, and everything extra is a bonus. That's around $200K for me. I live in HCOL but can afford my lifestyle essentials on these base salaries alone. I'm striving to retire early and reach financial freedom, however that doesn't mean I sacrifice all of my earnings for those goals, as I absolutely spend on activities and travel that I value today which brings me to…
- Vacation. This is a huge motivator for me to sell. I 1000% believe in a healthy amount of time off, and I use it all. The 6 days vacation difference walks the border of needing to be calculated with taking vacation versus having a nice buffer to not feel constrained when I want to take a spontaneous long weekend.
- Engagement with my work. I need to be somewhat interested in what I am selling, the company, and the client industry. That's part of the reason why I am looking for a new opportunity.
For background, today I'm at a F500 public company where I have been for 5+ years.
Also in consideration is preparing two steps ahead for a worse-case scenario: if my next role doesn't work out as imagined, which experience will make me more marketable should I want to hunt for a new job again?
Thank you in advance for any input and guidance.
14 comments